This is Datsun's first hatch for India...sketched

Datsun is very optimistic about its India plans. Nissan, Datsun's parent company, made news of the re-emergence of its budget brand public sometime last year, and set the date for the impending global unveil of its comeback product, which happens to be a hatchback, halfway through July. We've only just entered the seventh month on the calendar, but Datsun has now shown us its first India offering through a couple of sketches.

It wouldn't take one of Nissan's boffins to be able to tell that the sketches show a more boldly-designed Micra, with a prominent honeycomb grille, bigger headlamps and foglamp housings, and a few design flourishes along the side. The actual car should stay true to these drawings, unless someone's been a bit too imaginative with the sketching.

Sharing quite a few bits with its Nissan counterpart, the tiny new Datsun should have more-than-enough interior space, a nearly-enough amount of kit, and should initially be available with a detuned version of the Micra's 1.2-litre three-pot petrol motor and a five-speed manual 'box.

It is only to be unveiled to the People of the World on the 15th of this month, with launch scheduled sometime next year, not just in India, but Indonesia, Russia and South Africa as well. When it does enter the market, it will, much like Datsuns of old, be priced quite a lot lower than the cheeky Nissan it is based on, thanks to high localisation levels. Excited by the Japanese budget car-maker's sketches? Or would you rather just wait for the real deal?